Music & Arts from North Africa, Middle and Near East : the past and the future

domenica 20 novembre 2016

Naima Samih نعيمة سميح

Naima Samih is a Moroccan singer born in 1953 in the Derb Sultan district of Casablanca.

Belonging to a family of Saharawi origin composed of thirteen children, Naima Samih started singing at the age of nine. The passion for singing led her to practice constantly, even during school hours so that many teachers feared might infect classmates. Abandoned school early, began to work as a seamstress to help the family financially, but the passion for music won out and devoted hemself entirely to singing.

The turning point that will begin her musical career will be in the early 70s and will be represented by her participation in "Mawahib", the talent show organized by Abdelkader Rachdi that will bring out other future stars of the Moroccan music including Samira Said, and Rajae Belmlih.

Performances by Naima be popular acclaim from both the jury and the public.

But will the implementation of the song "O Jrit Jarit" (also known as "Yaka Jarhi") that will earn the esteem of the Arab world and that will make known her ability and her talent from North Africa to the regions of the Persian Gulf.

Around the second half of the 70 will record a pair of 7" with Abdou el Omari, the keyboardist experimenter will inject a large dose of psychedelia in the Maghreb musical tradition. The two individual objects will become over the years sought by collectors around the world.

In 1978 she took part as an actress in the film "El donia Nagham" of the Lebanese director Samir El-Ghoseini in the company of other fellow musicians including Omar Khorshid and Abdelhadi Belkhayat.

Unlike many of his colleagues who will use the visibility obtained in their homeland to emigrate to the court of Egyptian music industry, Naima Samih will always stay in Maroc and will say: "I think the success we can reach even here, there is no need emigrate".

Voice authentic, unique and inimitable Naima has faced throughout her life countless hardships. Much has been made over the years of her drug addictionand disadvantages of her existence has been much discussed in Morocco.

Because of her song, sweet and melancholy, and because of the tormented lyrics she interpreted, the contents of which very often coincided with her real life, Naima Samih is regarded as the Edith Piaf Moroccan.

His career continued, with ups and downs, for all the years 80 and 90 and still continues.